Tub guard



july 31, 1956 R. P. BOLLEN TUB GUARD Filed Aug. 19, 1952 INVENTOR.

flay P 50M. 51v BYMM 4 I. Q MLQMF #TTUR/VWS United States Patent O TUB GUARD Roy P. Bollen, East. Cleveland, Ohio Application August 19, 1952, Serial No. 305,241

1 Claim. (Cl'. 4'-185):

This invention relates to improvements in tub guards, that is guards adapted to be attached toa wall of a bathtub comprising one or more hand rails; which may be grasped by the bather while lowering himself into the tub or while rising from a sitting posture therein. The device is especially valuable in hospitals or similar institutions for the use of elderly or decrepit patients.

One of the objects of the invention is the provision of a device of the character stated which" can be-securely mounted on a bathtub side wall or end wall or at a corner between a side and end wall.

Another object is the provision of a device of the character stated which shall be adapted to be fastened upon tubs of various kinds, styles and sizes.

Another object is the provision of swivel connections between the clamps and the guard for permitting the positioning of the clamps at an angle to each other in order to adapt the guard to be located at various positions on the tub.

Still another object is the provision of a soft rubber casing for the guard in order to provide a smooth soft surface which cannot injure the bather, and in order to provide a gripping surface from which the hand of the bather will not readily slip.

Other objects and features of novelty will appear as I proceed with the description of those embodiments of the invention which, for the purposes of the present application, I have illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which,

Fig. 1 is a fragmental perspective view of a bathtub with an outwardly rolled rim showing my guard applied to a side wall thereof.

Fig. 2 is an elevational view, partly in cross section, and on a larger scale showing the construction of one of the tub gripping clamps and the rubber casing on the tubular elements of the guard.

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1 showing the guard applied to the corner of a bath tub of a different style, and,

Fig. 4 is an elevational view partly in vertical section and on a larger scale of the clamp used in the Fig. 3 construction.

Referring first to Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawing, is intended to represent a cast iron enameled bathtub of conventional design having an outward rolled rim 11. The Width of such rims varies somewhat in different makes of tubs, and I have accordingly designed my clamps to accommodate such differences in dimensions. The clamp comprises a casting 12 with a long leg 13 having an inner surface inclined from the vertical somewhat so as to correspond substantially with the inclination of the average tub wall. Opposite the leg 13 there is a right angled leg 14, one portion of which projects inwardly slightly below the edge of rim 11 and another portion 15 of which is vertically disposed and is drilled and threaded to take a clamp screw 16 which is provided on its inner end with a sheet metal dished disk 17 having a universal connection with the screw and carrying on its dished surface a sponge rubber pad 18. The outer end of the screw has rigidly connected therewith-a hand knob =19 which is covered with soft rubber 20 of a substantial thickness, preferably of the order of one-sixteenth to one-eighth, of an inch. These knobs necessarily project somewhat from the clamp and might injure a bather who happened. to. fall against one of them, but with soft rubber encasingthem in accordance with this invention any injury from this cause is minimized. The inner surface of' the casting,.12. is covered with sponge rubber 22 or other softyielda-ble material, which prevents mart-ing of. the tub and assists in the gripping, action.

The clamp. includes what maybe termed abridgi'ng portion 24, that is a portion joining the two legs of the clamps. This. bridging porti'on is formed, with an up.- standing boss 25. which. givesv considerable depth to the clamp at this point. A vertical hole 26 is drilled through the bridging portion 24 and. the boss 25.. and. its, lower. end' islflared outwardly at 27' by counterboring or otherwise. The boss 25 andthe hole 26 are so disposed that when the clamp is mounted upon a tub they come directly. above. the rim 11' of the tub.

The guard portion of thedevice, consists primarily of a. tubular steel'rnember of inverted U-shape, the side posts 30 of which are joined together rigidly somewhat above the level of the tub by a brace 31 also of tubular steel, the brace being attached to the posts preferably by welding. This brace 31 and a horizontal part 32 of the U- shaped member constitute hand rails which may be grasped by the bather especially while getting into or out of the tub. In order to form stops for the posts 30, limiting the depth to which they may be inserted into the clamps, beads 28 are formed in the posts, as by a spinning operation.

All parts of the guard above the lower extremities of the side posts 30 are covered with a soft rubber encasing layer 33 similar to the layer 20 on knob 19 and of a similar thickness.

In assembling the guard and the two tub clamping members the lower bare extremities of the posts 30 are projected through the holes 26 of the two clamps until the beads 28 engage the clamps, after which the lower ends of the posts are flared outwardly within the flared ends 27 of the holes 26. Thus the clamps and the posts are held together against relative movement lengthwise of the posts while the clamps are free to turn on the posts to whatever extent may be necessary in order that they may be disposed at any desired position on a tub.

In Figs. 3 and 4 I have illustrated a modification in which the clamps are somewhat differently formed in order that they may be applied to good advantage upon tubs of a different style from that to which the first described form of the invention is directed. In this case the tube has a rim 40 which is substantially fiat and inner wall surfaces which are inclined inwardly and downwardly. The inner leg 41 of each clamp has an inclined surface which matches the average inner inclined surface of tubs of this style. The outer leg 42 may be vertical. The casting, comprising the inner and outer legs 41 and 42 and a bridging portion 43, is preferably lined with a sponge rubber pad 44 similar to the pad 22 of Fig. 2. A screw 45 is threaded through a drilled and tapped hole in the leg 42 of the clamp and is provided with a dished disk 17 and an operating knob 19 similar in all respects to the parts with the same reference numerals in Fig. 2. The leg 42 of the clamp is spaced from the leg 41 a sufficient distance so that the clamp may be used upon tubs having walls which vary in thickness.

Also, as in Fig. 2, the bridging portion 43 of the casting is provided with an upstanding boss 46 through which and the bridging portion beneath it a hole 47 extends, and the hole is so disposed that regardless of the thick- 3' ness of the tub wall the hole will lie above the rim thereof. The lower end of the hole is flared, as at 48, to accommodate the flared lower end 49 of the tubular post 30. The parts are assembled in the same manner as the corresponding parts of the first described form of the invention, and all exposed portions of the guard are coated with soft rubber in the same manner as the similar parts of Figs. 1 and 2.

In Fig. 3 I have shown the guard appliedto the corner of the tub, an arrangement which is entirely feasible with the guard of my invention whether the clamps be those of Fig. 2 or those of Fig. 4, and an arrangement which is impossible with the previous guards so far as I am aware.

The guard of this invention provides double hand rails 31 and 32 at difierent elevations which is very helpful to bathers, especially in getting up from a setting posture in the tub. Furthermore, the thick coating of soft rubber on the rails and posts enables the'bather to retain his grip on the guard comfortably and without slippage, and cushions any accidental impact of his body against the guard.

Having thus described myinvention, I claim:

In a bathtub guard, a pair of clamps adapted to grip the wall of the tub at spaced intervals, each clamp including a bridging portion adapted to extend over the rim' of the tub, said portion having a'smooth hole therethrough extending from the top of said portion toward the rim of the tub, each of said clamps having inner and outer legs, the inner leg of each clamp being adapted to engage the inner Wall of the tub and the outer leg comprising a clamping screw threadedly mounted in the leg and adapted to bear against the outer wall of the tub beneath its rim, an operating knob on. said screw, said guard comprising also vertical side posts of tubular metal rigidly connected together by a pair of vertically spaced rails, each side post extending downwardly through one of said holes with suflicient clearance to permit relative rotation between the posts and the clamps and having its lower end flared for engagement with the bridging portion to prevent upward movement of the post, whereby the guard may be attached either to. a side or end wall of the tub or to a corner thereof, said guard above said clamps and each of said knobs being encased in soft rubber.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

